Tag: literature

Perfumed Pages: Scents That Tell a Story

Because autumn is THE perfect time to get cosy with.a good book, we are celebrating the fact that literature is no longer confined between the covers; it’s seeping out, swirling through the air, and snuggling on your skin thanks to an ever-growing wave of scents directly inspired by novels and writers.

Who knew so many perfumers had a penchant for penning olfactory love letters to literary heroines, rebels, and devilishly dashing rogues? Read on to discover how these perfumes don’t just grab inspo from great prose but bottle the essence of each story. There’s simply no excuse for writer’s block when inspiration smells this enchanting!

So, if you’ve ever fancied a new chapter in your scent wardrobe, why not try weaving a little literary magic through your everyday? Suddenly, getting lost in a good book just became a spritz away. The only question is: which of these perfumed pages would you fancy leafing through in fragrant form, first…?

 

 

 

 

4160 Tuesdays Vianne’s Confession

Plunge headlong into the cobbled streets and gilded shadows of Marseilles in autumn, painted with all the chocolatier’s secrets and soul-searching from Joanne Harris’s Vianne. This isn’t a scent for those who favour sweet treats; instead, Vianne’s Confession is a brooding, confessional blend. Wisps of incense and smoky labdanum marry bitter cacao, rose and geranium, with salt and tomato leaf lending their savouriness. Oakmoss, cypriol and attar mitti (distilled from rich earth itself) root the fragrance in ancient stone and whispered mysteries. The sillage is ‘smoochy’ – a term only fitting for a perfume that seems part velvet, part ritual, all wrapped in moonlit chocolate and literary longing.

£75 for 30ml eau de parfum 4160tuesdays.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

D’Otto 2×4

In true Austenian fashion, 2×4 is less a spritz and more a slow-burn romance between conflicting hearts. Taking its cue from Pride and Prejudice’s Elizabeth and Darcy, each ingredient unfolds like the careful revelation of a well-guarded secret. Wisteria, Indian jasmine, and lily of the valley evoke the freshness of a countryside ballroom in full bloom, while damask rose adds an intimate blush of passion. The heart is an exotic bouquet of Thai orchid, tuberose, ambergris, and cashmeran, echoing the genre’s love for drama beneath decorum. As the novel’s tension deepens, water lily and Mexican tuberose gently melt into a woody, enveloping trail – sensual, enveloping, and designed to linger in memory the way Austen’s prose does.

£245 for 100ml extrait de parfum harrods.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marc-Antoine Barrois B683

Named for the Little Prince’s mysterious planet and the designer’s birthday, B683 wears the compelling casualness of a true dandy – and with beautiful assurance. Perfumer Quentin Bisch’s modern leather isn’t flashy; it’s the kind you’d trust for a clandestine rendezvous or hang inside a secret writing nook, richly lived-in. Spicy streams of black pepper, saffron, chilli and nutmeg tumble into violet leaf and musk, conjuring the paradoxical thrill of a story’s first page; both restrained and wild. The whole is grounded in sandalwood, patchouli and oakmoss, lending the stability and gravitas of a prized hardback spine. It’s the olfactory equivalent of finding the perfect phrase; quietly spectacular and effortlessly stylish.

£120 for 30ml eau de parfum selfridges.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Floris Wilde

Oscar Wilde (a well-known customer of Floris) had a distinct penchant for dandyism and boundary-pushing prose, so artfully rendered in this clever composition. Sparkling bergamot and citrus blossom open with a flourish, just as Wilde himself would enter a room: all charisma and cutting wit. A heart of ginger, green carnation and white jasmine thrums with theatrical passion – for romance, freedom and star-crossed lovers. The base, a warming swirl of sandalwood oil, olibanum and benzoin, cements its decadent legacy. An understated presence disguised in elegant tailoring, Wilde is just as adept at beguiling as a perfectly chosen epigram, a fragrant tribute to living and loving without apology.

£180 for 100ml eau de parfum (also available from £30 for 10ml) florislondon.com

 

 

 

 

 

Ghawali Closer Apart

Inspired by the fevered dreams and desires of Gatsby’s Roaring Twenties, Closer Apart is all about obsession and magnetic allure. It opens on a flirty burst of mandarin oil, pear and ginger, as effervescent as a champagne toast in a glittering mansion. The heart throbs with caramel, rose and lavender – think moonlit longing, whispered confessions, and the ache of unattainable love. Cedarwood, ambrocenide and musk wrap things up in delicious warmth, echoing the story’s undercurrent of yearning and complicated intimacy. Wear it and you’ll embrace Fitzgerald’s decadence with every inhale, hopelessly seduced by the tension between closeness and distance.

£175 for 75ml parfum selfridges.com

 

Written by Suzy Nightingale

Scented Stories: Exploring D’OTTO’s Literature Collection

D’OTTO’s Literature Collection is a perfumed paeon to the house’s singular belief that fragrance, like art, can leave an indelible mark in our scent memories, as well as treasuring the words of the classics they’re inspired by. Think of the scents as a seamless interweaving of culture and olfaction, offering scents as bold as the heroines within, and the fearless authors who wrote these iconic novels.

From its inception, and as you can read all about in our page dedicated to the house, D’OTTO has pursued a vision beyond decorative perfumery. Known for breaking all constraints, the house draws on iconic art and the elemental power of creative rebellion to craft what can truly be called ‘liquid art’. The vessels they’re housed in are important objects in themselves – offered as physical manifestations of modern perfume rituals. And the scents within, a kind of coded, sensorial rebellion rewriting rules and experiences. D’OTTO’s namesake, the figure eight, stands as an infinite talisman for the house, looping and spiralling in perpetual motion, just as art and scent bypass the ordinary and can carry us into their own dimensions.

 

 

And the perfumer for the house? Co-Founder Paolo Terenzi: A third-generation Italian perfumer, Paolo is respected for his endless creativity, as well as being a professional musician and poet.

Now, D’OTTO is pivoting from visual art towards the written word in their perfumed inspirations – having previously paid homage to painters such as Jackson Pollock, Kandinsky, and Mondrian; this time the focus is the written word, and beyond that, the seismic impact of women who didn’t write merely to entertain, but to shift the understanding of women’s voices in literature – and in history.

Let’s explore the perfume beneath the pages…

 

 

Firstly, the D’OTTO fragrance 4×2 evokes Jane Eyre with remarkable fidelity: opening in a shimmer of lily of the valley and tuberose, (that last heady bloom noting this is no nod to innocence). The heart, thrumming with bourbon vanilla and myrrh, reflects Brontë’s quietly radical spirit, while the warmly resinous, glimmering amber-y heat of the base offers a final, lingering impression of rebellious yearning. It is the restrained power of passion written in scent, mirroring Jane’s insistence on forging her own story.

£245 for 100ml extrait de parfum harrods.com

 

 

8×1 meanwhile sweeps us to the wild Yorkshire moors of Wuthering Heights, distilling its storm-tossed intensity into perfume form. A tart, exhilarating onset of rhubarb (for which Yorkshire is famed), orange and lemon yields to a floral-woody heart, with chamomile and waxy magnolia stained by intense cassis. The finishing base is all drama, with cashmere, woodlands and musks conjuring unyielding love and a sense of looming thunder. It’s unapologetic, passionate and elementally evocative.

£295 for 100ml extrait de parfum harrods.com

 

 

Completing the trio is 1×8, an earlier D’OTTO creation, now firmly re-contextualised as part of this literary tapestry. Dedicated to Jane Austen’s Emma, 1×8 is a delicate play of airy brightness, an intelligent, romantic swirl that perfectly suits those moments of wit and social intrigue. Its balance of lightness and depth sits as comfortably on a crisp autumn afternoon as the novels themselves sit by our firesides.

£295.00 for 100ml extrait de parfum harrods.com

At The Perfume Society, we’re captivated by the prospect of pairing classic re-reads with these fragrances: imagining the world of each heroine not only through words, but on the skin. It becomes possible, for a moment, to sense both the author’s own pulse and, if you will, the novel’s ‘emotional weather’ in each waft we wear…

 

Written by Suzy Nightingale

The ultimate summer reading list for fragrance lovers…

When it comes to choosing the perfect summer reading, there’s nothing quite like being swept away by books that tantalise the senses as well as the mind. Fragrance, after all, is the ultimate invitation to travel – whether it whisks you away on a physical journey or transports you via memory, longing and imagination.

 

Even if you’re staying close to home this summer, these six perfume-themed books from our scented bookshelves promise the most vivid of olfactory travels. Let your nose – and your mind – be your transport, with every page a passport to new adventures.

 

 

This summer reading line-up is curated just for you – our fellow fragrance-lovers – to evoke a sense of escapism, relaxation and sensory delight to be enjoyed on sunny afternoons or sultry evenings, home or away, whenever you want to explore your senses…

 

 

 

The Perfume Collector – Kathleen Tessaro

 

Tessaro’s ‘The Perfume Collector’ is the very definition of a summer reading sensation – a luxurious page-turner full of Parisian magic, secrets and the transformative power of scent. Grace Munroe, the story’s reserved protagonist, finds her buttoned-up London life turned inside out when she inherits a mysterious fortune from Eva d’Orsey, a woman she’s never met but whose life is intimately tied to the perfume world. Tessaro masterfully weaves together two timelines, with the smoky, decadent salons and perfumer’s ateliers of 1920s Paris blooming from the page, their scents almost tangible under the heat of a summer sun.

Apart from being a gripping read, this is a book about identity and reinvention, rich in historical detail, but above all about how the memory of scent can connect lives, loves and losses across time. As Grace chases enigmatic clues through Paris and Monte Carlo, each chapter is redolent of powdery iris, earthy patchouli and the quietly heady thrill of becoming someone else – the ultimate summer reading daydream. And really, isn’t that the feeling a wonderful fragrance can give us, too?

 

 

 

 

The Secret Ways of Perfume – Cristina Caboni

 

If your idea of summer reading is to be utterly transported, Caboni’s luminous novel is a journey from the lavender-draped hills of Florence to the hidden perfumeries of Paris. Elena Rossini, the heroine, possesses a rare nose for scent, her life haunted and enriched by aroma as she tries to piece together her own fractured story. A betrayal at home sends her on a quest to find an elusive family perfume recipe, uncovering secrets stitched into the very molecules of her past.

Caboni’s writing is drenched with Mediterranean warmth, thick with the scent of citrus zest, rose petals baking in the sun, and ancient libraries hiding secret vials. Every turn of the page is like discovering a new facet of a fragrance on skin; memories and possibilities, heartbreak and renewal, all awakened by the evocative power of perfume. Absorbing, romantic and gorgeously immersive, it’s the kind of summer reading that lingers long after you’ve turned the final page.

 

 

 

 

A Natural History of the Senses – Diane Ackerman

 

For those who crave a summer reading experience that’s as intellectually stimulating as it is sensory, ‘A Natural History of the Senses’ is a wonderful (and wonder-filled) book, though can be a little more challenging to find sometimes. Ackerman is a writing virtuoso, drawing you deeply into the scientific mysteries and poetic marvels of smell, taste, touch, sight and hearing.

With prose as lush as a blooming summer garden, she explores the primal link between scent and memory, the biology behind why a whiff of fig or jasmine can make one’s heart race, and stories of perfumers, botanists and dreamers who built entire worlds around fragrance. More than a book, it’s an experience: you’ll find yourself walking differently, breathing more consciously, and imbibing the everyday with newfound delight. Ideal for lazy days under a leafy canopy, this summer reading masterpiece transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary and reminds us how – through scent – life becomes vivid, unforgettable and utterly enchanting.

 

 

 

 

 

The Scent of You – Maggie Alderson

 

If your summer reading must include both escapism and a touch of real-life heart, look no further than Alderson’s enchanting ‘The Scent of You’. Polly, a perfume blogger with an emotional life as complex as her olfactory wardrobe, leans on her beloved bottles as her own world tilts off its axis. Family fissures, a missing husband and the demands of daily living weave together into a story as warm and inviting as a favourite cashmere sweater spritzed with a signature fragrance.

Alderson brilliantly captures the rituals and comfort of scent – the little moments that make us feel safe, loved and alive – while threading in secrets and suspense that keep the pages turning long after sunset. As a perfect summer reading treat, this novel is heartfelt, witty, and an ode to the messiness and wonder of everyday life, all underpinned by the reassuring, escapist joy of perfume. [P.S: Did you know that Maggie Alderson researched this novel by working with us one summer, and coming to launches to interview perfumers? AND, that she now sub-edits our magazine, The Scented Letter?!]

 

 

 

 

summer reading

The Scent Trail: A Journey of the Senses – Celia Lyttelton

 

Summer reading often calls for armchair travel, and Lyttelton’s ‘The Scent Trail’ is a globe-spanning adventure for the nose and soul. Tracing the origins of some of the world’s most coveted fragrances, she leads readers from the opulent rose fields of Turkey to the bustling souks of Morocco, the sacred groves of India to the wild forests of Indonesia.

Lyttelton’s tale is both an engaging memoir and a love letter to the sensory world: every scent she discovers opens a new chapter in the complex histories of culture, botanics and the people who preserve these traditions. With every encounter, whether humorous, revelatory or poignant, we’re reminded just how entwined our identities are with the scents that surround us. You’ll be planning your own expedition – or at the very least, sniffing your summer reading pile with new reverence.

 

 

 

 

The Book of Lost Fragrances – M.J. Rose

 

This intoxicating novel is pure summer reading escapism at its finest. M.J. Rose’s thriller follows Jac L’Etoile, a perfume heiress haunted by tragedy, on a suspenseful chase across Paris to unravel secrets hidden within her family’s legendary perfumery. When her brother goes missing after unearthing clues about a scent said to reveal past lives, Jac finds herself drawn deep into a world where history, mystery and fragrance entwine.

From the shimmering streets of modern-day Paris to the dusty shadows of ancient Egypt, Rose paints each setting with such vivid detail you can almost smell the perfume clinging to every page. A clever blend of romance, myth, and fast-paced adventure, ‘The Book of Lost Fragrances’ is for summer reading lovers who crave both heart and intrigue – and who suspect there are stories locked inside every bottle, waiting to be discovered.

 

 

 

 

This summer, let your reading be guided not just by genre or plot, but by the scents lingering around the stories you choose. Whether curled up in a sunny corner at home or journeying afar, these summer reading gems are an invitation to indulge your senses, explore new worlds, and let fragrance guide your imagination.

Want even more scented summer reading suggestions? You can virtually flick through our fragrant bookshelves and then pack your holiday bags with perfume books!

 

Written by Suzy Nightingale

Eau de Austen: Regency Perfumery & Modern Interpretations

What fragrance would Jane Austen have worn, we wonder? From delving in to the world of Regency perfumery in England, and exploring the historic houses proudly still thriving today, to exploring a contemporary niche house evoking one of Austen’s most famous heroines, we invite you join us in this fascinating slice of Regency scented reveries.

This year marks 250 years of Jane Austen’s birth, and the Jane Austen Society have a number of fabulous events planned to celebrate. But what perfumes might Jane and her contemporaries (and the characters in the novels) have picked up on a shopping trip in Regency London? You can click on the links to be whisked back in time to explore their brand pages, read their full scented stories and discover some of the original olfactive treats…

 

 

 

In spring 1799, an enterprising young man named James Atkinson set forth from the wilds of Cumberland for London. In his suit pocket were recipes for fine fragrances and toiletries he’d created himself. And next to him sat a generous amount of rose-scented bear grease balm. (Yes, really.) Even more extraordinarily, next to the balm sat a real, live bear who – so the tale goes – was utterly devoted to James. Mr. Atkinson opened a shop at 44 Gerrard Street, with Atkinsons being referred to as ‘that marvellous perfume shop with the most terrifying bear’. And James’s reputation was made… thankfully with rather more fragrant offerings. In 1800 launching a ‘fearlessly English’ eau de Cologne, which was strikingly different from the Italian-style Colognes: fresh, yes – but warm and spicy, too.

 

 

 

Yardley, too, has a proud (and VERY long) perfumed heritage, and happens to be named Yardley for the similarly feisty woman The firm has its formal roots in 1770, when the soap and perfumery firm known to us as Yardley London was established by the father of a man called William Cleaver. It got its so-familiar ‘Yardley’ name after a young woman called Hermia Yardley (daughter of the wealthy and ambitious businessman William Yardley), married William Cleaver – heir to his father’s soap and perfumery business. Young William persuaded Coutts Banking House to loan the business the sum of £20,000 (astonishing for those times), with his father-in-law as guarantor. When he couldn’t repay the loan, Hermia persuaded her father pay up – and thus, because of Hermia’s determinism and belief, Yardley came to be Yardley…

 

There’s some interesting snippets of information about Regency perfumery in the always-fascinating janeausten.co.uk, and they mention one of the U.K’s most famous (and still-thriving) perfumeries…

 

 

Floris. It’s an extraordinary chapter in British perfumery – even if its founder, Juan Famenias Floris, happens to have been Spanish by birth, travelling to London to seek his fortune. Step inside the shop at 89 Jermyn Street, then, and you are truly stepping into fragrance history. This is a house first founded in 1730, which is still operating out of its original premises, run by members of that same family. Many literary luminaries have graced the shop’s infamous customer ledger [Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein and wife of the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, wrote from abroad asking a friend to send in her next care package ‘two hairbrushes and a small toothbrush,’ from the store.] And in 1820 – the very end of the Regency era – Floris received its first of 16 Royal Warrants.

Meanwhile, modern perfume houses are very much infused with the spirit of literary inspirations – a subject we have often referred back to, and will certainly cover again, such is the extent of literature’s olfactory influence.

 

 

We were particularly thrilled when the always-creative house of D’OTTO sought scented inspiration in none other than Jane Austen as part of their Harrods-exclusive Literary Collection. [For reviews of the latest two Brontë fragrances by D’Otto, do see our soon-to-be-launched Summer edition of The Scented Letter magazine, and make sure you’re signed up to get your free digital copy as soon as it’s published!]

As D’OTTO explain:

‘The 1×8 Extrait de Parfum draws its inspiration from Jane Austen’s “Emma,” and her iconic quote,“Why did we wait for anything? Why not seize the pleasure at once? How often is happiness destroyed by preparation, foolish preparation!”

1×8 encapsulates the elegance, grace, and intelligence of Emma, the novel’s leading lady. Its lively notes recall the energy and vitality of youth combined with the romance and torment of a young woman as she grows up and her feelings mature.

A drop of this creation offers up lighthearted joy and the desire to discover the world. It is a testament to the irrepressible desire to experience every emotion intensely, with determination, passion, and self-confidence. 1×8 captures the essence of a daring soul, one that does not allow itself to be tamed by life’s challenges…’

Currently £206.50 harrods.com

So, which perfume might you plump for – to join in the costume parties, balls, games and literary gatherings celebrating Jane Austen’s 250th anniversary? (Or, of course, simply to wear when re-reading one of her still-sparkling novels) Might you be tempted by the modern evocation, or also want to explore the historic houses? In the spirit of Emma (and Austen herself), we say: dare to ‘seize the pleasure’ of several!

Written by Suzy Nightingale

 

 

Wild about Wilde – Floris pay fragrant homage to one of their most famous clients

With their hearts firmly embedded in their magnificent heritage, Floris manage to make fragrances that pay homage to their history yet remain so completely contemporary and wearable. It’s a tricky balancing act to achieve, and one that many heritage houses aspire to, but somehow Floris always manage to keep their fingers on the perfumed pulse. As they explain it…

‘Keeping integrity and compassion, is an elegant dance between the then and now.’

You can read all about the extraordinary history of Floris in our page dedicated to this proudly British house, but for the latest launch, Floris takes us directly to the pages of their legendary ledger – the records book that’s been witness to the orders from their clientelle through the ages. Basically put, it’s a perfumed Who’s Who, with their customer’s name encompassing Royalty, Winston Churchill, Florence Nightingale and Marilyn Monroe (to name but a few!)

 

 

One of their most famous clients was Oscar Wilde, and, says Floris, this ‘elegant dance’ between the past, the present, and the future is something Oscar himself was all too aware of.

‘Wilde visited the shop in the late 1800s to discuss with the family current local affairs and general happenings around Jermyn Street. Fashioned with dandy and finely polished sophistication, Wilde fastened a single green carnation to his lapel as the final accoutrement for the perfect soigné. A Parisian trend to identify oneself as homosexual.’

 

 

‘Wilde was a creative revolutionary of individuality, freedom and self. Forward thinking with ideals of the future that others had yet thought about or embraced. His notions of love were expressed through his writing, most passionately, between himself and Sir Alfred Douglas, Star-Crossed lovers, forbidden to love. Desire yearns through corresponding letter and unveiling poetry colliding together with hope of a loving and freer life.’

And so, with Wilde the fragrance, Floris invite us to… ‘Immerse yourself in the romanticism of ‘Wilde’, our new Eau de Parfum. Take charge with reckless love, vigour and intention, to indulge an olfactory sense.’

 

Floris Wilde

‘Wilde captures sparkling bergamot and gentle citrus blossom, layered with the spicy combination of white jasmine, ginger and green carnation, an affirmation to Wilde’s love and affection to Lord Alfred Douglas. The warming base of pure sandalwood oil, olibanum and benzoin add a rich sophistication and depth. Understated but with an unmistakable presence.’

Top Notes: Bergamot, Marine, Citrus Blossom

Heart Notes: Dianthus, Ginger, White Jasmine

Base Notes: Sandalwood, Olibanum, Benzoin

£180 for 100ml eau de parfum (also available from £30 for 10ml) florislondon.com

 

 

 

In an age when love of all kinds are now thankfully celebrated, we should never forget the agonies Oscar Wilde suffered from public censure, which eventually saw him imprisoned, undergoing Hard Labour, emerging finally as a ruined man, broken forever. So, how even more important and wonderful it is to celebrate his love, now, and to wear it proudly, to waft down the street in a cloud of Wilde and allow ourselves to fall wildly in love (with whomever we want, and with ourselves) with every single spritz of this dandy-ish, delectable new scent…

 

Written by Suzy Nightingale

The Scent of Snowdrops & the Promise of Spring

In the depths of winter, when life seems dormant and waiting, there is one little glimpse of brighter times to come – a whiff of hope on the frosty breeze – in that cheering moment we first spot a snowdrop. Yes, that might sound clichéd, but I defy you to smother a smile when you see one.

SO delicately scented with a lightly honeyed, creamy almond kind of smell, the latin name ‘Galanthus‘ means ‘milky flower’, and this tiny bloom has gathered centuries of fragrant folklore around its origins, continuing to inspire perfumers with its transcendent prettiness.

Native to Alpine regions, where they thrive amidst the cold, mountainous climes; snowdrops are believed to have first appeared in the British Isles when they were brought there by monks. It’s rather nice to imagine them tenderly tucked in religious robes while they travelled, but however they first arrived, they took root in the frozen winter soil of this country, and in our souls, somehow. Perhaps we were seduced by the mythology – stories passed down through generations, such as the legend recounted on the snowdrop-centric website snowdrops.me: ‘when you listen closely,’ they explain, ‘you can hear their bells ringing, trying to wake up nature from its winter sleep.’ Even more beautiful is the ancient German tale re-told on The Creative Countryside blog:

 

 

 

‘At the beginning of all things when life was new, the Snow sought to borrow a colour. The flowers were much admired by all the elements but they guarded their colour’s jealousy and when the Snow pleaded with them, they turned their backs in contempt for they believed the Snow cold and unpleasant. The tiny humble snowdrops took pity on the Snow for none of the other flowers had shown it any kindness and so they came forth and offered up to the Snow their colour. The Snow gratefully accepted and became white forevermore, just like the Snowdrops. In its gratitude, the Snow permitted the little pearly flowers the protection to appear in winter, to be impervious to the ice and bitter chill. From then on, the Snow and the Snowdrops coexisted side by side as friends.’

 

I’ll be the first to admit the smell of snowdrops isn’t effusive, it doesn’t billow through the woods as a scented cloud harkening Spring; but though tenderly scented, it’s the symbolism of this flower that so inspires perfumers, I think. And to which we feel drawn – perhaps likening ourselves to the ‘brave’ flower having clung on through icy conditions, and having managed to immerge, even through the frozen ground. A triumph of beauty over adversity, if you will.

 

 

 

 

Quietly scented (to us) they may be, but that smell acts as a clarion call for potential pollinators. The composition of the snowdrop’s fragrant waft depends on the type of insect it wants to attract. The honeyed kind attract bees (and us), but because the snowdrop is a fairly recent inhabitant on British shores, the scent they exude can also be a wordless cry to a species not available here. So, not all snowdrops have a smell that pleases the masses. Explains the National Plant Collection of Galanthus at Bruckhills Croft in Aberdeenshire on their snowdrops.me blog (where you can purchase several varieties of the flower): ‘The species Koenenianus is often described as having a smell of animal urine or bitter almonds, so perhaps has evolved to attract pollenating beetles in its native North-Eastern Turkey?’

 

 

 

 

Fragrances evoking snowdrops are (given our love for the flowers and their symbolism) still surprisingly rather scarce, but when we find them they may lean on the tenderly honeyed side of their scent (I’m very glad to say), with clever ‘noses’ tending to use a blend of notes to evoke these seasonal flagposts of hope in their fragrances – boosting their brightness, smoothing the edges, radiating anticipation. Such is the alchemy of a fragrant composition, we might be smelling lily-of-the-valley or bluebell accords (also imagined evocations) or the dewy green of violet leaf. Creamy white musks are often used to create that elegant shiver of the flower, or a whisper of cool woodiness wafting an imagined breeze to shake their bells. Conversely, the sense of snowdrops may be borrowed to add pale shafts of sunlight within the darkness of a scent, the contrast emboldening the harmony of the whole blend.

So, while you may not pick up a bottle and confidently declare ‘Aha! I detect snowdrops!’ we can quite willingly succumb to the romance of the story, and cling on to the feeling of hopefulness each of these four snowdrop fragrances grant the wearer…

 

 

 

 

Shay & Blue Black Tulip From £7.95 for 10ml eau de parfum
Contrasts abound as white chocolate swathes spiced plum, but before gourmand-avoiders back away, it’s not overtly sweet – think of it more like the silky ‘mouth-feel’ amidst swathes of bright snowdrops and creamy cyclamen. The dark heart hushes to wood shavings, curls of chocolate still falling like snowflakes.

 

 

Zoologist Snowy Owl £175 for 60ml extrait de parfum
Dawn Spencer Hurwitz’s calone-based ‘snow accord’ imagines the backdrop for the owl’s scented swooping: ‘A thick carpet of silver envelops the landscape, untouched but for the dazzling reflection of the sun.’ Icy mint, lily of the valley and coconut drift to snowdrops and sap-filled galbanum, softly feathered by the moss-snuggled base.

 

 

 

A portrait of a frozen stream in perfumed form, snowdrops and freesia are lapped by lychee water, peony petals and jasmine hinting at warmer days, clementine blossom a burat of happiness amidst misty, crystalline musks. Then, the smooth teakwood base is whipped through with fluffs of creamy vanilla for an ambient blanket of calm.

 

 

 

 

 

Angela Flanders Lawn £85 for 30ml eau de parfum
Kate learned perfumery at her mother’s knee, taking over the house after Angela died, with this dew-speckled, dawn-struck scent her first offering. ‘Lawn marked a new start for me as a perfumer’, she explains, ‘and is therefore a most appropriate scent for the time of year when we feel ready to embrace the promise of a new season.’

 

Written by Suzy Nightingale

Sarah McCartney: Celebrating Shakespeare’s flowers in fragrant form

Shakespeare and his love of flowers are eternally entwined in our imaginations, and now we have hot-off-the-press news of a specially commissioned fragrance inspired by the bard…

 

Though much of what we know of Shakespeare’s life is supposition, and hotly debated by historians to this day; what we can surmise is that he loved flowers – including references to over fifty types of them within his writing, using them to highlight the emotional tone of scenes, reflect character’s thoughts or send messages his audiences would have readily understood in the ‘language of flowers.’ Artists, writers and musicians still find much inspiration in these floral allusions, and little wonder, given the veritable bouquet of creative suggestion Shakespeare proffers.

 

Botanical Shakespeare: An Illustrated Compendium, £20 (Royal Shakespeare Company shop)

 

Many of the flowers Shakespeare alluded to in his work have led to well-known phrases we still use, such as ‘a rose by any other name’ and ‘gilding the lily’, but it’s worth pointing out, lovely as they are, these are slight misquotations. In Romeo and Juliet, the rose is used to there to garland Juliet’s complaint about their families refusing to let them marry because of an ongoing feud, saying:

What’s in a name? that which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet. [Act II Scene II Line 43]

As for the lily, that pops up when painted, in King John, with a courtier commenting

To gild refined gold, to paint the lily

To throw perfume on the violet …

Is wasteful and ridiculous excess [Act 4 Scene 4 Line 11]

I respectfully arch an eyebrow at the slightly scathing mention of perfume, and though of course it’s a literary way of saying that natural beauty need not be embellished, would point out that many fine fragrances have been created to evoke the violet (it being one of the flowers unable to have its scent naturally extracted); but shall forgive the courtier (and, therefore, Shakespeare) for not being privy to such scent chemistry knowledge.

 

Shakespeare’s Flowers cards, £3.99 for 5 x A5 pack, DaysEyeCards

In any case, April 23rd is National Shakespeare Day, the anniversary of the bard’s death, and though the exact day of his birth is unknown, also the day his birthday is traditionally celebrated (his baptism being recorded as taking place on April 26.) So, this would have been excuse enough for me to celebrate his gorgeous floral allusions by showcasing some fragrances I feel are particularly pertinent to Shakespeare’s love of flowers. However, Fate intervened to reveal an even more intriguing story…

While thinking about writing a general Shakespeare and fragrance type article, a little bird (in fact, fellow fragrance writer and friend Amanda Carr, co-founder of We Wear Perfume, and currently organising the inaugural Barnes Fragrance Fair) happened to mention to me that 4160 Tuesdays founder and perfumer, Sarah McCartney had recently received a rather fabulous private commission to create a Shakespearean-inspired fragrance for none other than Gyles Brandreth. A noted Shakespeare expert, broadcaster, author and language-lover.

 

 

Currently named Sonnet No.1, the fragrance is actually for both Gyles and his beloved wife, the writer Michèle Brown, in celebration of their forthcoming wedding anniversary. Describing the ingredients she used for the composition, Sarah chose: ‘Rose, violet, lavender, lily, narcissus absolute, musks and hay absolute,’ with two versions having been made, one including beeswax absolute.

Before you ask if we can all get our hands (and noses) on it, Sarah explains, ‘I only made it on Monday, so at the moment just 30mls exist, but it’s gorgeous! (Though I say it myself.) I’d like to launch it, but it would have to go through its stability tests and all the official processes before it can go public.’ Well, it probably does seem only fair to let Gyles and Michèle enjoy the fragrance first, but golly it does indeed sound gorgeous, so fingers-crossed. In the meantime, fragrance and Shakespeare lovers should consider another beautiful 4160 Tuesday’s scent. Says Sarah:

Ealing Green was originally made for a fundraising event on Midsummer Night in Ealing, and I used herbs and flowers mentioned in the play… wild rose, thyme, grassy banks, violets and oakmoss feature.’

 

 

 

We were invited to make a midsummer scent for a 2013 charity evening in Ealing, West London, using plants and flowers named in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, so we imagined the scenes taking place by Pitzhanger Manor on Ealing Green, and created the aroma of a magical summer evening. Its perfect for wearing in the heat.
It starts with a wander through the herb and flower gardens of Walpole Park, takes in a picnic on the grass and ends up lying on the lawn by the pond, staring at the clouds floating by, smelling the warm earth.

4160 Tuesdays Ealing Green £65 for 50ml eau de parfum

What better time to purchase a bottle and immerse yourself in the floral imagery of Shakespeare?

So synonymous with flowers is Shakespeare, in fact, that seed boxes of Shakespeare’s Flowers are now available from Shakespeare’s Globe shop, where you can choose from ‘…the Shakespearean Growbar, containing the seeds of three Shakespearean flowers: heartsease, marigold and columbine. Or the Tudor Herbs Growbar, containing the seeds of three herbs familiar to the Tudors: fennel, lemon balm and winter savory.’

 

Shakespearean Flowers Growbar £12

[Just don’t spray the flowers with the perfume, is all I’m saying. We know how he’d have felt about that.]

 

Written by Suzy Nightingale

 

Chapter & Verse: fragrances inspired by literature

Fragrance and literature have a scented symbiosis, a way of piercing beneath layers of logic to reach our most instinctive emotions. They tap into deep-seated memories, dare us to dream, and share the power to make us feel a certain way, even if we don’t fully understand why.

Consequently, English Literature is a particularly bountiful resource for perfumes – so many have taken inspiration from the pages of novels, hoping to evoke the atmosphere of the story itself, or exemplify famous characters through the ages.

Writers frequently allude to other senses when attempting to fully plunge the reader into a plot – the most skilled wielding the sense of smell as another character, almost, or underlining that most private, inner world the other characters inhabit.

 

 

I encourage you to dive into these scented stories, for as Master Perfume Jean -Claude Ellena says:

‘Perfume is a story in odour, sometimes a poetry in memory…’

 

Sarah Baker Parfums Far From the Madding Crowd

Juxtaposing idyllic pastoral scenes with simmering, intense emotions, this fragrance references Thomas Hardy’s book of the same name, seeking to evoke an atmosphere that is, to quote Baker, ‘simultaneously exquisitely beautiful and cruelly unforgiving.’ Amidst the beautiful note of heliotrope – a flower that often grows wild among ancient hedgerows – dangerous declarations and balmy evenings are poised betwixt the romantic idealism of a country picnic. Think long summer grasses, orchards filled with fallen fruits, wide meadows to run through in gauzy gowns, willows to sit beneath while passionately pining.

£95 for 50ml eau de parfum or try a sample in their Discovery Set for £25 / VIP price £21

Histoire de Parfums 1804 George Sand

Renowned for her androgynous pen name, Sand was ‘the incarnation of the first modern woman’, and forms a central part of the brand’s literary leanings (which include an intriguing voyage via their 1828 Jules Verne and the rather more risqué 1740 Marquis de Sade). This vibrant throb of a scent tempts the senses with succulent pineapple before lavishly decorating with tall vases of white flowers and coming to rest on the warm, ambered sensuality of the spices that ripple throughout. If ‘fruity’ fragrances have previously made you recoil, come back into the fold with this utterly grown-up and bosomy embrace.

From £36 for 15ml eau de parfum 

 

Parfums Dusita Montri

A writer, traveller and strong yet gentle man who spent a lot of time in Paris, this fragrance was not only inspired by one of his poems, the office he wrote in and the materials he used – it radiates a sense of his poetic soul. A refined and ultra smooth blend of sophisticated spices are seamlessly stirred through orris butter, rose and Oud Palao. Ah, but this is a sheer, spacious and uplifting oud that speaks of wooden desks, piles of papers, the gentle scratch of a fountain pen on parchment and writing as the sun sets. An elegantly comforting scent that feels immediately timeless, how perfect for perfumer Pissara Umavijani to honour her literary father in this way, and what an honour for us, the wearers, to share it.

€150 for 50ml eau de parfum

 

 

 

Guerlain Mitsouko

Author Claude Farrère was a close friend of Jacques Guerlain, so when Farrère included a Guerlain fragrance in his novel Opium Smoke, describing ‘Jicky poured drop by drop onto the hands blackened by the drug’, Jacques was thrilled at the symbiosis and returned the favour by naming one of his greatest ever creations after a character in Farrès novel La Bataille. Conjuring romanticism as see through a woman’s eyes, this scent is a complex unfurling of cinnamon infused, milk-lapped plump peach skin, the oakmoss trail that lingering beguilingly for hours. The masterful current reformulation by Thierry Wasser is as close as we’ll get to the original, thanks to oakmoss restrictions, but oh it’s a must-sniff for literary and perfume lovers alike.

£112 for 75ml eau de parfum

 

 

 

 

Frederic Malle's Portrait of a Lady perfume

Frederic Malle Portrait of a Lady

In Henry James’ eponymous novel, protagonist Isabel Archer sulks her way through immaculate gardens, burdened by blessings of too much beauty, intelligence and wealth [#thoughtsandprayers] while James himself seems to scamper behind, awed by her melancholy and reflecting that ‘a visit to the recesses of one’s spirit was harmless when one returned from it with a lapful of roses.’ Dominique Ropion’s fragrance leads the wearer face-first into that lap, a rambunctiously sexualised and swaggeringly confident portrait of the woman she might have been, perhaps; the shadier bowers ravaged for ripe berries, lips stained vermillion from their juice, petals torn as velvety pocketfulls of roses are ripped from their stems. A page-turner on the skin, for sure.

£188 for 50ml eau de parfum

Written by Suzy Nightingale

Richard E Grant explores Süskind’s Perfume novel

Richard E. Grant explores the world of Süskind’s Perfume novel in episode 2 of his new BBC series, Write Around the World, and we think you’ll be captivated by his so-evocative scent journey…

‘I’ve been led by nose all my life,’ says Richard. ‘When I was 12 years old I tried to make a perfume with gardenia and rose petals – to impress a girl I was madly in love with, called Betty Clapp. It took me 56 years to create my own professional perfume brand here in Grasse.’ He’s there for part of his wonderful new BBC series, Write Around the World, traversing those places that have inspired iconic writers through history – Grasse being the perfume capital of the world and the setting for one of Richard’s favourite books: ‘Patrick Süskind’s Perfume novel… the best description of scent I’ve ever come across, and reading it is almost a physical experience.’

 

The BBC say: ‘Book and travel lover Richard E Grant journeys to southern France, visiting the Cévennes mountains, Marseille, Juan-les-Pins on the French Riviera and Grasse in the hills north of Cannes, in the footsteps of writers inspired by the country, its culture and history.

Reading key passages from their books as he goes along, including works by Robert Louis Stevenson, Alexandre Dumas, F Scott Fitzgerald, Elizabeth David and Patrick Süskind, Richard not only learns about the lives of these great authors, but also experiences many of the places immortalised in the literary classics they created.’

Richard’s own fragrant journey led him to the brilliant perfumer Alienor Massenet. She garlanded his original idea (and favourite flower) of gardenia with marijuana (a nod to his film, Withnail and I), mandarin, vetiver and a plethora of spices, with a sophisticated, cologne-like zing of lime up top, capturing all Richard’s favourite smells in an intensely personal ‘signature’ scent. That fragrance is now immortalised as Jack – the first of the synonymous collection, and a scent which succeeded in winning the Fragrance Foundation Award for Best Independent Fragrance in 2015.

 

In the episode Richard wanders through Grasse with obvious delight, his nose veritably twitching as he sees (and smells) the places described in the novel, even having a fragrance created for him at the historic house of Galimard, which he names for Grenouille, the novel’s protagonist. Little wonder, given his scent obsession, that Richard went on to add three other fragrances to his collection, which you can explore in our page dedicated to the house of Jack.

‘Our sense of smell is the shortest synaptic leap in the brain to our memory,’ says Richard, ‘and every one of these ingredients is like a sensory trigger. I’ve aspired to create a fragrance that is as lickably moreish as it’s addictive.’

For a fragrantly inspiring journey of your own, we suggest watching the episode, reading Patrick Süskind’s Perfume (if you’ve not already, you’re in for a treat!), and then truly indulging your sense of smell by exploring the full range of Jack fragrances…

 By Suzy Nightingale

Your scented summer reading list

If you can’t get away this year, at least we can enjoy planning a scented summer reading list. Have a look at what’s on ours… Now the weather’s playing nicely we can finally plan some outdoor activities, chief among which, for us, includes sitting in the sun (slathered in SPF, obvs) with a good book.

We’ve whole shelves full of Fragrant Reads and perfume-themed books for you to peruse, but here we’ve selected some favourites to entice your senses while (hopefully) finding time to relax in the sunshine this summer….

 

 

The Perfume Collector by Kathleen Tessaro [Harpercollins] waterstones.com

A novel after our own hearts (and noses) this ‘richly evocative tale is a ‘secret history of scent, memory and desire’ and begins in the 1950s with newly-married socialite Grace Munroe’s life being turned upside down by the arrival of a mysterious letter, naming her as the beneficiary of a woman called Eva D’Orsay, who, it turns out, was the darling of high society and a fragrant muse for perfumers in the 1920s. The journey of discovery leads Grace to the heart of the perfume world, travelling to Paris and exploring the life and death of this shadowy benefactor. Traversing decadently through the decades in New York, Monte Carlo, Paris, and London, as Grace finds out more, and indulges her own senses, she will be changed forever when forced to choose between the image of what society experts of her, and who she really is…

 

The Secret Ways of Perfume by Cristina Caboni [Black Swan imprint] foyles.co.uk

Granted a rare gift of a superior sense of smell, Elena’s passion for perfume has been passed down through generations of her family; but it’s a power that can all too often overwhelm her, as this ability means painful memories about her mother are carried on the breeze, and so she can never truly escape her past. When a betrayal destroys her dreams, fragrant events are set in motion when Elena’s best friend invites her to Paris, and she grabs at the chance to start afresh. Lured by the landscape, immersing herself in the world of scent once again, the ancient art of composing perfume beckons our protagonist. Searching for a secret recipe within her family’s historic archives, Elena’s new goal becomes the replication of a composition noone in her family managed to master. Having met a man who’s harbouring his own clandestine past; before long, she’s following the scent trail to discover all manner of mysterious. Because, ‘Remember Elena, perfume is the truth. The only thing that really counts. Perfume never lies, perfume is what we are, it’s our true essence…’

 

A Natural History of the Senses by Diane Ackerman [Vintage Books] amazon.co.uk

The title doesn’t do this justice: Ackerman’s writing is poetically exquisite and immediately evocative – exploring and explaining not just the sense of smell, but all the senses. In the first chapter – Smell – she looks at scent and memory, at roses, at sneezing, at the way our health (and what we eat) impacts on our body odour. Something to read that shakes the very foundations of how you’ll look at smell and fragrance. Although this book is over 20 years old, it’s timeless and deserves to be read by anyone with even a passing interest in smell and how it relates to our everyday lives. Thumbing through this (which we have a hunch you will do, many, many times over the years), you’ll learn answers to questions you never knew you had, and though of course we wish it was ALL about smell, with ‘dissertations on kisses and tattoos, sadistic cuisine and the music played by the planet Earth…’ think of the other four chapters as simply a gift with purchase that will similarly engage all your senses.

 

The Scent of You by Maggie Alderson [Harper Collins] waterstones.co.uk

‘I experience the world through smell – I always have’ it begins,  and we couldn’t agree more. Maggie was inspired to write this novel by spending time in our own Perfume Society office, attending launches and meeting perfumers, learning the history of perfume and developing a burning passion for it along the way. Central character, Polly, is a perfume blogger who loses herself in the world of fragrance while her own world falls to pieces around her – something many of us can empathise with. We love the fact Maggie was inspired to name her after falling madly for Vilhelm’s perfume, Dear Polly, and that she even created a blog and Instagram account for Polly to share her perfume reviews. Polly, having grown up surrounded by the beautiful perfume bottles of her ultra glam (ex-model) mother, and learning to explore the world by sniffing ‘…everything!’ she is now distracting herself with, among other things, ‘Guy, the mysterious, infuriating and hugely talented perfumer.’ We’re rather wondering who this may have been based on, as that description doesn’t sufficiently narrow it down…

 

Scents & Sensibility: Perfume in Victorian Literary Culture by Catherine Maxwell (OUP) blackwells.co.uk

Gathering the fragrant thoughts of luminaries from Oscar Wilde to H.G. Wells, don’t be put off by the scholarly look – it’s a sumptuous plunge that presents perfume as a character in its own right. And it will spark a whole new ‘must read’ list! Did you know that Victorian ladies were warned off wearing tuberose in case it caused involuntary orgasms, so headily narcotic was the aroma? Read about this and more in Perfume Society VIP subscriber Catherine Maxwell’s fascinating book, which also features the astonishingly scathing observations of Virginia Woolf, quoted from her diaries, on women who wore too much perfume. What she has to say about fellow author Katherine Mansfield’s chosen fragrance is one of the shadiest things we’ve ever read!

By Suzy Nightingale